On 10th June 2025, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its ‘Family visa financial requirements review’1 on whether there should be changes to the minimum income requirement for the UK spouse visa route. In January 2025, the Home Secretary, Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, commissioned the review2 to better understand how the minimum income requirement should be set in a way that balances economic well-being and family life in the UK.
The minimum income requirement for a UK spouse visa increased from £18,600 to £29,000 in April 2024, resulting in a notable decline in applications. According to the latest data3 published by the Home Office, family visa applications fell by 14% over the past 12 months. Similarly, our immigration lawyers saw a surge in spouse visa enquiries and applications before the new requirement came into force in April 2024 and a significant drop once the changes took effect.
What is the spouse visa minimum income requirement?
The spouse visa minimum income requirement is the lowest combined amount that applicants must earn in order to qualify for a spouse visa under the UK family route. The minimum income requirement can be met in a number of ways, including income from employment, self-employment, non-work income (e.g. investment or rental income), and cash savings over £16,000.
The minimum income requirement for the UK spouse visa rose significantly from £18,600 to £29,000 in April 2024. The Conservative Government had planned to increase the minimum income requirement further to £34,500 in early 2025 and later to £38,700. The current minimum income requirement of £29,000 represents the 25th percentile of the earnings distribution for Skilled Worker route occupations. The proposed minimum income requirement of £38,7000 is equivalent to the current Skilled Worker visa income threshold.
Increases in the minimum income requirement make it harder for foreign spouses of British nationals, and people settled in the UK to join their partners in the UK. The greatest impact is on those who do not meet the minimum income requirement and hence must be separated from their UK-based partner for extended periods, even years. This type of separation is known to lead to stress and mental health problems for those affected. The challenge when considering changes to the minimum income requirement is achieving a balance between the quality of family life for spouses and the cost to the taxpayer and economic well-being.
What are the findings from the Migration Advisory Committee report?
The main findings of the Migration Advisory Committee are as follows:
- The current spouse visa minimum income requirement of £29,000 continues to impact the economic well-being of the UK and the ease with which applicants are able to be united with their families.
- A fairer threshold to ensure families can support themselves, according to the Migration Advisory Committee, would be between £21,000 and £28,000 (or more precisely, between £23,000 and £25,000)
- £29,000 is relatively high compared to other countries that offer spouse visa.
- Respondents stated that £29,000 is too high because many people in the UK do not earn this amount, even those in full-time employment, especially outside London and the South-East.
The findings of the review show that a high proportion of spouse visa applications are made by women ‘out of country’, and around 90% are under the age of 44. The largest source of applications under the spouse visa route is currently from Pakistan.
The Migration Advisory Committee also made a key observation that when making their initial spouse visa application, applicants rely on the sponsor’s earnings, whereas when applying for an extension, both sponsor and applicant’s earnings count. This is because in order to be used to meet the minimum income requirement, income must be earned in the UK by a person with permission to work here.
The Migration Advisory Committee have also made it clear that they do not see any reason to link the family route minimum income requirement with the skilled worker visa income threshold. In their view, the two have a different objective and purpose, and this is likely to conflict with the UK’s obligations under international law (e.g. under Article 8).
Recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee review
The Migration Advisory Committee review recommends that the Home Office:
- Explores ways to take into account the non-UK applicant’s earnings if they have a verified job offer in the UK. As the Migration Advisory Committee explain, this approach will help to mitigate some of the issues faced by British women who are primary caregivers returning from abroad with non-UK partners who are the main earners in the household.
- Give prospective family visa applicants more notice of impending changes to the minimum income requirement (they recommend at least 12 months)
- Consider regular reviews to keep the minimum income requirement fair and adjusted for inflation.
- Consider the approach used in the United States, whereby the sponsor must have a minimum income equivalent to 125% of the relative poverty threshold.
- Rethink how rules apply to families with children – one recommendation is to make parents of British children eligible for the Parent route regardless of their relationship status. Under the current model, applicants are only eligible for the Parent route if they are not eligible for the Partner route.
What does this Migration Advisory Committee review mean to the new spouse visa rules?
At this stage, it is not clear whether the Migration Advisory Committee review will make any real impact on government policy decisions in the UK. Before the recommendations can be taken any further, they will need to be reviewed by the Home Secretary, and any proposals would require parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation. However, it is important to note that the recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee are often taken forward. For example, the Graduate Visa remains in place after recommendations by the Migration Advisory Committee in 2024 to keep it amid considerable mounting pressure to cancel the scheme.
We will keep you up to date with any further family visa policy announcements as they are made.
References:
1 GOV.UK: Family visa financial requirements review
2 GOV.UK: MAC commissioned to review family visa financial requirements
3 GOV.UK: Accredited official statistics. Why do people come to the UK – Family?
